The European Union (EU) reached a deal with Russia on the deployment of monitors to check gas flow via Ukraine, paving the way for the resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe, the Czech EU presidency said on late Thursday.

"The Czech Prime Minister and the Russian Prime Minister agreed on the conditions of deployment of the monitoring commission at all locations that are relevant for the flow of gas," the Czech government said in a statement.

The breakthrough came after Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek spoke to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"This deployment should lead to the Russian supplies of gas to EU member states being restored," the statement said, without specifying when the monitoring mission will start and supplies be restored.

There was no immediate word on the details of the agreed monitoring plan.

Talks brokered by the EU earlier in the day with Russia and Ukraine failed as Russia insisted that its own experts should be included in the monitoring mission, but Ukraine only agreed to allow EU observers to supervise the operation of its gas transit system.

It remained unclear whether Russia will send monitors under the fresh deal.

All Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine were shut down on Wednesday as a gas row between Russia and Ukraine escalated, causing a supply crisis for a number of EU countries.

At least 15 European nations, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, had reported a halt in Russian gas shipments by Wednesday.

Caught up in the gas row between Russia and Ukraine and hit by freezing weather, several EU countries were faced with a serious gas crisis, with factories shut down, schools closed and thousands of people left without gas for heating.

The International Energy Agency warned that Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Turkey would have difficulty providing electricity and heating if the cold weather and gas disruptions continued next week.

Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1 after the two countries failed to reach an agreement on gas prices for 2009, immediately resulting in disruptions of transit supplies to the EU. One fifth of the gas used by the EU comes from Russia through Ukraine pipelines.

Both Russia and Ukraine had been blaming each other for the gas shortage in the EU.

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2009)